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White House Pets….A Spreadsheet Activity (Adapted from Integrating Technology into the Social Studies Curriculum, published by Teacher Created Materials, Inc.)) Objective:
Students will search a Web page for information and record it. They will use the data to fill in (younger) or create (older) a simple spreadsheet and chart. Procedure:
Before the computer:
Ask students who lives in the White House. Besides the First Family, discuss their pets and what it might be like for them to live in the White House.
Ask if any students have ever visited the White House. Using the Internet link http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/pets.html take the
class on a virtual tour of the White House. Explain that other presidents have also had pets, and brainstorm a list of the kinds of pets that could live in the White House.
On the computer:
Have students work with partners to learn about the kids and their pets who have lived in the White House. {This could be done as a center activity or in a lab setting.} Have them explore the
White House for Kids
home page and record the kind and number of pets the children have had. Finally, have them use the data to fill in/create spreadsheets and charts. You could also have them complete an information scavenger hunt about pets in the White House.
After the computer:
Extended Activities
1. Draw a White House pet and write an interesting fact about it. 2. Take a class pet survey and create a bar graph to show the kinds and numbers of pets owned by classmates. 3. Make a
class book entitled "Our Pets". Use pictures made with KidPix or other drawing software. 4. Write the directions for the care and feeding of a family pet.
White House Pets Scavenger HuntBefore going to the web page, answer the following question. 1). One of the pets that lived in the White House was name Macaroni.
What kind of animal do you think Macaroni was? You can check later to see if you were correct. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ __________ Now go to the page
http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/pets.html 2). What was the name of Amy Carter's cat? Hint: You must read about another presidential feline to
find out. _______________________________________________ 3). Where did President's Johnson's dog Yuki come from? ___________________________________________________
____________________________________________ 4). What pet was the most unusual? ___________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ 5). If you live
in the White House, what type of pet would you have? ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ Why? ___________________________________________________
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